Expectations of Economic Content on Social Media Among Generation X, Y and Z

Abstract

        This study aimed to compare the exposure to and expectations of economic content on social media among audiences from Generation X, Y and Z. A total of 485 participants, selected through purposive sampling, consisted of Thai online media users between the ages of 15 and 60, who had seen economic content on at least one platform: Facebook, YouTube or TikTok. A questionnaire was utilized as the research instrument, with content validity confirmed by expert review. The reliability of the expectation variables for economic content on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok yielded Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of .97, .95 and .98, respectively. Data collection was conducted from 1 September to 30 December 2024. Descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation, were employed alongside inferential statistics, namely Chi-Square tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), for hypothesis testing. The findings revealed that most Generation X, Y and Z audiences were primarily exposed to marketing, product, and service-related content, followed by domestic and international economic policy and investment content. However, differences among generations were found in the exposure to digital economy and cryptocurrency content. Participants showed the highest expectations for economic content on social media to interviews with credible sources. Significant generational differences were also observed regarding preferences for the inclusion of relevant images, continuous subtitles, and the use of modern, engaging, and appropriately informal graphics.